Five weeks from today, the IronPigs' season opens at Coca-Cola Park. Here are some things to ponder until then.

The Philadelphia Phillies minor league camp officially opens today at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater.

Five weeks from today, the gates open for Coca-Cola Park's sixth season, and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs' first under new manager Dave Brundage.

Here are a few items to keep an eye on over those 35 days:

Can Tyson Gillies stay on the field? Gillies was supposed to be ready to replace Shane Victorino in center this year for the Phillies. A fragile hamstring, a strange off-field arrest (charges later dropped) in 2011, an outfield collision, and a temperamental outburst at a bus driver have all combined to limit him to 106 games and 418 at-bats over the last three years. However, he won't turn 25 until October, so if he can stay in the lineup every day and play up to the talent level the Phillies believe he possesses, perhaps his arrival at Citizens Bank Park will be delayed by only a year.

Where does Darin Ruf fit in? A year ago, the 26-year-old wasn't on anybody's radar as a potential major leaguer, especially as a Double-A first baseman in this organization. But 41 home runs later, Ruf finds himself rated among the team's top 10 prospects and potentially facing on-the-job training as a left fielder in the big leagues.

Greg Luzinski (1972) and Pat Burrell (2000) both pulled it off — but both cut their outfield teeth on 97-loss teams. Maybe Ruf, who is off to a slow start in Florida, can pull it off as well on a team that believes it can win the World Series. But also, remember this — it's believed no Phillies position prospect ever jumped from Double-A directly to the majors and became a major contributor. So will he wind up at Citizens Bank Park or at Coca-Cola Park?

Who will round out the rotation? Ethan Martin has just under 200 innings of work at Double-A, so barring anything dramatic, he should join Jonathan Pettibone and reigning International League pitcher of the year Tyler Cloyd as anchors in the IronPigs rotation. That would appear to leave veterans Brian Bass, Tom Cochran, Aaron Cook and Rodrigo Lopez (along with anyone else the Phillies might bring in over the next few weeks) to fight for the other two spots.

At least two of those veterans, Cook and Lopez, were brought in to provide "depth" for the rotation beyond the big league level, something the Phillies talk about stockpiling each winter. Yet in the IronPigs' five-year history, want to guess just how many starts the Dave Bushes, the Pat Mischs, the Nate Bumps, or the Kris Bensons have provided on the major league level? Would you believe … six — five by Lopez in 2009, one by Nelson Figueroa in 2010.

Who will be behind the plate? The trades of Lou Marson (to Cleveland in July 2009) and Travis d'Arnaud (to Toronto that December) left Sebastian Valle as the organization's clear-cut "catcher of the future." But then along came Tommy Joseph last summer, and now he seems to have assumed that label. There is speculation that both could wind up at Triple-A this year, splitting time. But it's hard to believe the Phillies would go that route. Whatever way the wind blows in Clearwater, one (Joseph seems to be the popular choice) likely winds up with the IronPigs, the other likely goes back to Reading to play full-time — unless there's a spring deal to be made. And don't forget, Cameron Rupp is pushing for upper-level playing time after a solid 2012 in Clearwater.

Can third baseman Cody Asche push for a Triple-A spot? The 2011 fourth-round pick has played just 198 games in his pro career but he's already knocking on the door of Triple-A — and perhaps beyond. The Phillies expect him to start the season at Reading, although minor league boss Joe Jordan said this winter he wouldn't be surprised if Asche makes the brass rethink their plans during the spring.

Will Freddy Galvis be back in an IronPigs uniform? A shortstop by trade, Galvis got on-the-job training as a second baseman last year filling in for Chase Utley, and held his own until a back injury and suspension for violating baseball's drug policy ended his season in early June. Now, with Utley healthy, Galvis is in the major league mix as a utility infielder, and he's expected to get some work at third during the spring as well.

However, don't forget that Galvis has only had one solid offensive season (2011) in his career, and he only has 271 at-bats above the Double-A level, including his major league time last year. It makes sense to a lot of observers to have the 23-year-old playing every day at Triple-A instead of two or three times a week in the majors, even if the organization believes young Roman Quinn is Jimmy Rollins' eventual successor at short. The Phillies seem to have cornered the market on veteran middle infielders who can play once or twice a week — but Phillies manager Charlie Manuel apparently loves the way Galvis plays, so don't be surprised to see Galvis on the Phillies bench on Opening Day.